About Me

Business, Free Enterprise and Constitutional Issues; Pro-Life and Pro Second Amendment. Susan Lynn is a member of the Tennessee General Assembly. She serves as Chairman of the Consumer and Human Resources subcommittee and on the Finance Ways and Means Committee. She holds a BS in economics and a minor in history.

"The committee recommends the use of the thimerosal-free DTaP, Hib, hepatitis B vaccines in the United States, despite the fact that there might be remaining supplies of thimerosal-containing vaccine available."

They went even further by stating:

"The committee recommends that full consideration be given by appropriate professional societies and government agencies to removing thimerosal from vaccines administered to infants, children, or pregnant women in the United States."

And that is what this bill is attempting to do.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) located in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the most respected authorities on toxic substances in the world, (they operate under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control), their web page called ToxFAQs on mercury states in part:

As to whether the ethyl mercury in thimerosal is a safe form of mercury, there are many peer-reviewed studies that address Thimerosal, also known as merthiolate, specifically. Here are just a few highlights:

"There was little difference in the neurotoxicities of methylmercury and ethylmercury when effects on the dorsal root ganglia or coordination disorders were compared."and further:

"The neurological signs and symptoms of methyl- and ethyl mercury intoxication are identical..."

David S. Baskin, M.D., and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery published their findings regarding the Toxicity of Thimerosal in Toxicological Sciences, 2003 74 : 361-368. They concluded:

"We found that thimerosal in micromolar concentrations rapidly decreased cellular viability."In the year 2000, FDA scientist William Slikker states in the journal Neurotoxicolcogy:

“Thimerosal crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers and results in appreciable mercury content in tissues including brain.”

Dr. Slikker was by no means the first to make such an assessment about ethyl mercury.

“...ethyl mercury derivatives are virulent neurotoxins on either acute or chronic exposure." "They are especially hazardous because of their volatility, their ability to penetrate epithelial & blood-brain barriers & their persistence in vivo."

“…there is clear and substantial evidence that both PMA and thimerosal cause reproductive toxicity, as discussed above in section IV A of this response."

A report to the United States Congress recorded in the Congressional Record, on May 20, 2003 was quite explicit on the dangers of mercury. Congressman Dan Burton’s committee (R - Indiana) was charged with examining mercury in medicines.

The report states in part:

“The FDA acted too slowly to remove ethylmercury from over-the-couner products like topical ointments and skin creams. Although an advisory committee determined that ethylmercury was unsafe in these products in 1980, a rule requiring its removal was not finalized until 1998.”

“The FDA and the CDC failed in their duty to be vigilant as new vaccines containing thimerosal were approved and added to the immunization schedule. When the Hepatitis B and Haemophilus Influenzae Type b vaccines were added to the recommended schedule of childhood immunizations, the cumulative amount of ethylmercury to which children were exposed nearly tripled.

“The amount of ethylmercury to which children were exposed through vaccines prior to the 1999 announcement exceeded two safety thresholds established by the Federal government for a closely related substance— methylmercury. While the Federal Government has established no safety threshold for ethylmercury, experts agree that the methylmercury guidelines are a good substitute. Federal health officials have conceded that the amount of thimerosal in vaccines exceeded the EPA threshold of 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight. In fact, the amount of mercury in one dose of DTaP or Hepatitis B vaccines (25 micrograms each) exceeded this threshold many times over. Federal health officials have not conceded that this amount of thimerosal in vaccines exceeded the FDA’s more relaxed threshold of 0.4 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. In most cases, however, it clearly did.”

“The CDC’s failure to state a preference for thimerosal-free vaccines in 2000 and again in 2001 was an abdication of their responsibility. As a result, many children received vaccines containing thimerosal when thimerosal- free alternatives were available.”

“The Influenza vaccine appears to be the sole remaining vaccine given to children in the United States on a regular basis that contains thimerosal. Two formulations recommended for children six months of age or older continue to contain trace amounts of thimerosal. Thimerosal should be removed from these vaccines. No amount of mercury is appropriate in any childhood vaccine.”

You may have noted that I have not mentioned autism. However, Rep. Dan Burton’s report does mention studies that the AAP and others usually use to discredit linkages between thimerosal and autism. I will note that the symptoms of mercury poisoning and autism match symptom for symptom. The report states in part:

“To date, studies conducted or funded by the CDC that purportedly dispute any correlation between autism and vaccine injury have been of poor design, under-powered, and fatally flawed. The CDC’s rush to support and promote such research is reflective of a philosophical conflict in looking fairly at emerging theories and clinical data related to adverse reactions from vaccinations.”

“Autism in the United States has grown at epidemic proportions during the last decade. By some estimates the number of autistic children in the United States is growing between 10 and 17 percent per year. The medical community has been unable to determine the underlying cause(s) of this explosive growth.”

“At the same time that the incidence of autism was growing, the number of childhood vaccines containing thimerosal was growing, increasing the amount of ethylmercury to which infants were exposed threefold.”

Conclusion

The Industry is changingManufacturers are voluntarily removing or have removed thimerosal from vaccine

No federal law protecting usThey can add it again at any time without notice

Do they want to keep using it?In December, a Nashville news station interviewed me and showed me some tape from an interview with a doctor from Vanderbilt. The doctor said that not only is thimerosal perfectly safe, we need to continue to use it.

There is thimerosal free flu vaccine availableWe should ensure that this vaccine is given to our children and pregnant women first

We can ensure availabilityIf supplies run short the Commissioner of Health can wave the restrictions

We can ensure public confidence by passing this bill

Parents won’t have to wonder if vaccine contains a substance that is toxic and could harm their child

The amendment for the bill states:

· No vaccine on the childhood immunization schedule may contain thimerosal except in trace amounts.

· Flu vaccine given to children and women who are known to be pregnant may not contain thimerosal except in trace amounts.

· No vaccine given to women who are known to be pregnant may contain thimerosal except that the woman waves her right to receive mercury-free vaccine and is informed of the potential danger to her fetus.

· In case of a health emergency, the commissioner of Health may wave the standard.

· If the standard is waved, and vaccine containing thimerosal is used, parents are to be informed that the vaccine contains mercury, a toxic substance, and there is a risk of mercury toxicity associated with exposure to mercury.

However, because this bill will not be enacted until mid 2007 and a vote today will not affect the implementation of this bill, I am withdrawing this bill from committee. I can understand how very difficult a decision is for my colleagues. I want to thank my colleagues who worked so hard on the study committee. I owe you my respect and gratitude.

I have an abundance of information available. Please see my assistant after the committee meeting.